"Everything That Rises Must Converge"

"Everything that rises" I think is just the prejudice that continually we see rising in the mother. The story starts out with really no inclination as to her being prejudice, but as the story develops and she gets among the white people, her prejudice is evident. I think it rises in her and we see it build up frustrations inside her, especially whenever her son Julian takes the seat next to a colored man. Also, she is almost disgusted at the colored lady who is wearing the exact same hat as her. The 'must converge" part is the idea that in order to get along in society, one must realize that the times aren't as they used to, and racisim is no longer an issue. I think Julian was the one who was intended to help his mother adapt and realize that to live in this "new" society, everyone has to get along treat each other as equal. Julian was totally embarrassed throughout the entire story due to the fact that his mother was still stuck in her old ways, or her old life.

I think Julian is the most sympathetic to me because I can relate more to him about knowing how the times are now and dealing with people who are still living back when they were younger. At times it can be embarrassing simply because they don't know how much the times have changed and certain things shouldn't be said or done anymore. I also sympathize with the way he is still hanging on to his mother and trying to sway her in a new direction. Most people would have gotten frustrated with the situation, but because she has taken care of him, he is trying to take care of her, but in a different sense.